Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was born on July 6, 1935, in the village of Taktser in northeastern Tibet, and has led the Tibetan Buddhist community from exile in Dharamshala, India, since 1959. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1989), he is recognized globally for his advocacy of nonviolence, compassion, and Tibetan autonomy, and has authored more than a hundred books on Buddhism and ethics.
The question of the succession of the 14th Dalai Lama has become a geopolitical clash: China claims the right to determine the next Dalai Lama, while Tenzin Gyatso insists that the decision belongs exclusively to Tibetan tradition.
On 17 February 2026, Ngari Rinpoche Tenzin Chhogyel, the youngest brother of the Dalai Lama, died in Dharamshala at the age of 80.
On 2 July 2025, the Dalai Lama at the 15th Tibetan Religious Conference in Dharamshala declared that the exclusive authority to determine his next incarnation belongs to the Gaden Phodrang Trust foundation - without any external political interference.
On 6 July 2025, Tenzin Gyatso celebrated his 90th birthday in the Tsuglagkhang temple in Dharamshala in the presence of thousands of believers from around the world.
In March 2025, the Dalai Lama published memoirs titled "Voice for the Voiceless" with HarperCollins, in which he reviews seven decades of Tibetan-Chinese conflict and outlines a vision for Tibet's future.
